WHITEFIELD:More than 7,000 people gathered near the International Tech Park (ITPL) on Monday to protest against the poor civic infrastructure here.
Save Whitefield, a movement that gained momentum on social media, was a huge success as citizens and techies from Marathahalli, Nellurahalli, Graphite Junction, Hoodi, Varthur and ITPL streamed onto the roads.
The demonstration was organised by a citizens’ group called Whitefield Rising. Protesters gathered at seven nodal points in Whitefield from 10 am. They formed human chains and headed towards ITPL, where they demonstrated for an hour.
“Our traffic wardens helped us carry out the protest successfully, without hindering the traffic,” said Mahesh, who works for a multinational company. Some private hospitals had deployed ambulances and set up emergency booths.
Arvind Shukla, a senior citizen, said, “I am here because a friend recently broke his ankle because of a sink hole on the pavement.”
Senior citizens from Athashri Apartments said 6th Cross linking them to ECC Road had become inaccessible, and was not motorable. Even an ambulance will not be able to reach here, they complained.
Samresh Singh, who works at ITPL, said, “The objective of this protest is to send a clear message to the state government that we are united. After paying taxes, if we don’t get proper civic amenities, we will continue to protest.”
Earlier, the maintenance of this IT hub was under the Bangalore Development Authority, it is now under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. However, the infrastructure hasn’t shown any improvement even after this switch.
Zibi Jamale of Whitefield Rising said, “I am overwhelmed to see the number of people joining us. We hope after the government takes note of the conditions in the area and initiates repairs.”
Akshit Sinha, a nine-year-old who was at the demonstration with his mother said, “We are stuck in traffic for hours and after reaching home we hardly get time to play or finish our homework.”